Obama called for the House to pass the version of health reform that passed the Senate just before Christmas and then to enact a series of technical adjustments - through a parliamentary procedure known as budget reconciliation - that can circumvent an expected GOP filibuster of continuing reform efforts.

“Reform has already passed the House with a majority,” he said. “It has already passed the Senate with a supermajority of 60 votes.”

He added, “Now it deserves the same kind of up or down vote that was cast on welfare reform, that was cast on the Children's Health Insurance Program, that was used for COBRA health coverage for the unemployed, and, by the way, for both Bush tax cuts, all of which had to pass Congress with nothing more than a simple majority.”